Of First Importance
1 Corinthians 15
Easter is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This celebration occurs around the same time as the Jewish Passover, and although the timing varies because of calendar differences, the first Easter happened at the end of Passover.
Throughout the ages, many different teachings and errors have sprung up around the events of that day. Most appalling is that some who say they are “Christians” deny the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead is a necessary part of the gospel. Romans 10:9-10 says:
Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
In these verses, the Scriptures say, “and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead.” This makes believing that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead a necessary part of salvation. I would go as far as to say that one cannot be saved apart from believing that God raised Jesus from the dead.
The Bible is a long book, as books go. However, the Bible is also a collection of literature from over 1400 years of history. The Bible contains books of History (1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, etc.), books of Poetry (Job, Psalms, Proverbs), Books of Law (Leviticus, Deuteronomy), books of prophecy ( Isaiah, Jeremiah, Revelation), and letters of instruction (the epistles). These books and letters were written by over 40 different men from different periods of history.
According to the Bible, all of these books are inspired by God and given for our instruction.
2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV) All Scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
The critical point here is that everything between the covers in this book is important for our knowledge, growth, and relationship with God. He has not wasted any space. Jesus said:
Matthew 5:18 (NKJV) “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
But here is a problem, what if I don’t know the whole Bible? Where should one start, and what is the essential or fundamental gospel? We can and should spend our entire lives reading the Bible, but never know all there is to know concerning God that is revealed in its pages. So, what is necessary for one to know?
In 1 Corinthians 15, the Bible gives the basic or essential gospel. Read with me.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NKJV) 1Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
With this brief statement, the Scriptures tell us the essentials.
The first point is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
An important side note is that this passage emphasizes that these events or truths are “according to the Scriptures.” The truth or facts surrounding the gospel cannot be separated from the Scriptures. It is through the Scriptures, the Bible, that we learn and know the gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:3 says, “Christ died for our sins.” Every part of this sentence is essential. The “Christ” spoken of here is Jesus Christ, who lived in history and was born of the virgin Mary. The crucial part is understanding that as “the Christ,” Jesus was (and is) both God and man.
The next truth is that “He died” is tied to “for our sins.” Please pay close attention. “For OUR sins” implies that we have “sins.” It is necessary for us to recognize and acknowledge our sins. For one, what are we saved from? Are we in danger? Why do we need to be saved? Teachings about sin can become complex and challenging to understand as we dig into the depths of the subject as taught in Scripture. However, the essential knowledge is that all of us (each and every one of us) are under the judgment of God for our own sin, not our fathers’, not humanity’s but our own. The penalty or price for our sin is death. This is why we need to be saved.
Sin is the dark background that makes the gospel “good news!” (“Gospel” means “good news.”) The gospel includes that Christ died for our sins. The significance of this is that our sins were paid for by His death. Again, remember that this is all “according to the Scriptures.” The more we know of the Scripture, the more we understand the severe nature of our offense against God and the price that was paid for our salvation. But the starting point is acknowledging that we are sinners and that Christ died for our sins.
1 Corinthians 15:4 gives the next essential of the gospel. It says, “That He was buried.”
Islam teaches that Jesus did not really die, but God made it appear that Jesus died. Some teach that Jesus was only unconscious when they put Him in the tomb, and the coolness of the tomb revived Him.
The burial of Jesus is essential because it is crucial that we know that Jesus was really and truly dead. His death was not faked or misleading in any way. This truth emphasizes the resurrection.
Death is final as far as we are concerned. Once a person dies, they are gone, and there is nothing we can do about it. However, God is not limited in this way. The resurrection of Christ from the dead is an essential truth of the gospel. It is the strongest evidence for the truth of the gospel.
We accept many events of history as factual—the life and conquests of Alexander the Great or Julias Cesar, or Mark Anthony. Compared to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the historical evidence for the lives of these great men is very small. The historical record of the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the best documented events of history. It has to be for us to accept it because people do not come back from the dead.
Jesus said that if we believe in Him, He will give us eternal life. We know He can do this because He came back from the dead.
To encourage us and strengthen our faith, the Scriptures include some details that are worth noting at this point. 1 Corinthians 15:5-8 says:
1 Corinthians 15:5-8 (NKJV) 5and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
“Then last of all He was seen by me also” refers to the Apostle Paul, who is giving his personal testimony. When Paul wrote this letter, Most of the Apostles were still alive, and he includes the detail that most of the 500 people who saw Jesus all at the same time were still alive. If these witnesses were all still alive, they could be asked about what they saw. This is why they are mentioned. Paul, by the Holy Spirit, was asking people to make sure of the truth of what he was saying. In his testimony before kings, Paul said,
Acts 26:26 (ESV) For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.
The truth of this statement by Paul is found in the events of this little backwater area (as far as Rome was concerned) are mentioned by historians from that era who were not believers and were not trying to prove or disprove any facts about Jesus. This is why Roman historians like Tacitus or Josephus are so popular among Christians.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave is essential to the gospel because of the foundation it lays for our faith. However, this is not the only reason for its significance. We live in the hope of His return. We know from Scripture that He ascended to the Father and will return to gather His own. Our expectation and hope are that He will return soon.
Now, if He is going to return, He must still be alive. Two thousand years ago, on a Sunday morning, some ladies and then the disciples went to the tomb and found it empty. Angels at the tomb told them:
Luke 24:5-6 (NKJV) 5“Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6“He is not here, but is risen!
All the prophets died, and some of their tombs are still recognized. The founders of other religions, Buddha and others, are all dead, and their tombs are still in existence. The tomb of Jesus is still in existence, but it is empty.
When the women went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus on that Sunday morning, they went to find a corpse, but they found the stone removed from the entrance and the tomb empty. This one event has done more to change the world and history than any other. It transformed Peter. It transformed the twelve. It transformed Paul. Throughout history, it is the testimony of many men and women that Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, has transformed their lives.
He can transform your life today. The starting point is the essentials of the gospel. Jesus will be returning soon; He promised to return. Our only hope to be ready is to accept the truth of the gospel. Romans 10:9-10 tells us how we do this.
Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Will you? Will you believe in your heart? Will you confess with your mouth?
The empty tomb stands as a reminder of the salvation offered and the promised return.
